Past Retreats
ALL LUTHERAN WOMEN’S RETREATS
1981-Present
1st Retreat – October 2–4, 1981
Massanetta Springs Conference Center, Harrisonburg, VA
Theme: “God’s Plumb Line”
Retreat Leaders: Dr. Faith E. Burgess, Dean of the Faculty and Associate Professor for Church History
Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA;
Esther Onstad, Retired faculty member of Luther College of the Bible and Liberal Arts, Teaneck, NJ
Rev. Judy Simonson, Associate Pastor, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Arlington, VA; Sally Hiller,
Deaconess, Ascension Lutheran Church, Landover Hills, MD
2nd Retreat – October 21–23, 1983
Massanetta Springs Conference Center, Harrisonburg, VA
Theme: “In Christ – Fully Human, Fully Alive”
Retreat Leader: Bonnie Jensen, Director of the American Lutheran Church Women
3rd Retreat – October 18–20, 1985
Massanetta Springs Conference Center, Harrisonburg, VA
Theme: “Be Still and Know That I Am God”
Retreat Leader: Florence Montz, Graduate Nurse and member of the Board of Directors, Lutheran Church Missouri
Synod (LCMS)
4th Retreat – October 16–18, 1987
Massanetta Springs Conference Center, Harrisonburg, VA
Theme: “In Him We Live and Move and Have our Being”
Retreat Leader: Ann Kohler, President of Lutheran Church Women, Lutheran Church of America, and member of the Planning Committee for the
New Women’s Organization forming under the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).
5th Retreat – October 20–22, 1989
Ingleside Hotel and Conference Center, Staunton, VA
Theme: “The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength”
Retreat Leader: Beverly McCray, Department of Social Ministry, (LCMS), St. Louis, MO
6th Retreat – October 4–6, 1991
Ingleside Hotel and Conference Center, Staunton, VA
Theme: “Called to Pray”
Retreat Leaders: Dr. Richard Hinz, President Southeastern District, LCMS
Rev. Jean Bozeman, Assistant to the Bishop, Virginia Synod, ELCA
Rev. Willetta Heising, Chaplain/Consultant-Abalon, Williamsburg, VA
Rev. Judith Simonson, Chaplain, National Lutheran Home
7th Retreat – October 1-3, 1993
Cliffside Inn – Harpers Ferry, WV
Theme: “In the Eye of the Beholder”
Retreat Leaders: Phyllis Kersten, Vice President for Communications, Wheat Ridge Foundation, Chicago, IL
E. Louise Williams, Director, Lutheran Deaconess Association, Valparaiso, IN
8th Retreat – September 29–October 1, 1995
Best Western Lee-Jackson Motor Inn and Convention Center, Winchester, VA
Theme: “Stirred by the Spirit to Tell the Story”
Retreat Leader: Rev. Sharon Israel, St. Jacob’s Lutheran Church; Pleasant Valley, VA
9th Retreat – October 3–5, 1997,
Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center, Virginia Beach, VA
Theme: “Waves and Wells”
Retreat Leader: Deaconess Sally Hiller, Mission and Ministry Executive, Southeastern District, LCMS
Rev. Brinkley Goranson, Chaplain, Lutheran Council of Tidewater, Lake Taylor Hospital, Norfolk, VA
10th Retreat –September 29-October 1, 2000
Patrick Henry Inn & Conference Center, Williamsburg, VA
Theme: “Spirituality Is Not a Four Letter Word!”
Retreat Leader: Rev. Marguerite Rourk, Director of Church Relations, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC
11th Retreat – October 25–27, 2002
Holiday Inn Downtown, Williamsburg, VA
Theme: “Women of the Bible: Just Like Us – Wacky, Wild, Wonderful”
Retreat Leader: Faith Fretheim, Program Manager, Women’s Ministry, Women of the ELCA
12th Retreat – October 1-3, 2004
Carrodoc Hall Holiday Inn, Leesburg, VA
Theme: “Can You Drink The Cup?”
Retreat Leader: Rev. Jean Bozeman, Assistant to the Bishop, Virginia Synod, ELCA
13th Retreat – October 13-15, 2006
Patrick Henry Inn, Williamsburg, VA
Theme: “In My Mother’s House”
Retreat Leader: Rev. Dr. Sally M. Brower, Consulting Member, North Carolina Synod Spirituality Committee
14th Retreat – October 17–19, 2008
Ramada 1776 Inn, Williamsburg, VA
Theme: “Hearing with the Heart”
Retreat Leader: Debra Farrington, author of eight books of Christian spirituality, including
Hearing with the Heart: A Gentle Guide to Discerning God’s Will for Your Life
15th Retreat – October 22–24, 2010
Holiday Inn, Harrisonburg, VA
Theme: “Laughter is a Gift from God”
Retreat Leader: Rev. Jean Bozeman, Assistant to the Bishop, Virginia Synod, ELCA
16th Retreat – October 19 – 21, 2012
Holiday Inn Patriot, Williamsburg, VA
Theme: “Always Healthy All Ways”
Retreat Leaders: Rev. Drema McAllister-Wilson, Minister of Congregational Care, Metropolitan United Methodist Church, Washington, DC
Myrta Zayas Alonzo, Nancy Nelson, and Anne Wilson
17th Retreat – October 9 – 10, 2015
Holiday Inn Patriot, Williamsburg, VA
Theme: “First Things First”
Retreat Leader: Dr. Phyllis Blair Milton, Synodical Minister for Christian Formation, Virginia Synod, ELCA ; Associate Pastor at Gloria Dei Lutheran in
Hampton, VA; and Chaplain for Gloria Dei Lutheran School
18th Retreat–October 13-15, 2017
Fredericksburg Hospitality House and Conference Center, Fredericksburg, VA
Theme: “Important Stories and Pointless People”
Retreat Leader: Rev. Brett Davis, ELCA Metro DC Synod at Georgetown Lutheran Church, Washington, DC
19th Retreat–November 7-9, 2019
Natural Bridge Historic Hotel and Conference Center, Natural Bridge, VA
Theme: “For Everything There is a Season….”
Retreat Leader: Donna Marie Todd
20th Retreat–November 3–5, 2022
Natural Bridge Historic Hotel and Conference Center, Natural Bridge, VA
Theme: “Bloom Where You Are Planted-Thriving in Times of Change”.
Retreat Leader: Donna Marie Todd